Rhizome short. Culms densely tufted, 20-80 cm tall, slender, trigonous, rigid, subsmooth but scabrous below inflorescence, clothed at base with dark brown or purple-brown sheaths eventually disintegrating into parallel fibers. Leaves longer than culm, blades linear, 2-5 mm wide, ± stiff, plicate. Lowest involucral bract with a leaflike blade, remaining bracts nearly bladeless or with a short setaceous blade. Spikes 3-7, upper spikes approximate, lower 2 or 3 distant; terminal spike male, purple-brown, linear-cylindric, 4-10 × ca. 0.25 cm; lateral spikes female or androgynous, cylindric or linear-cylindric, 3-7 × 0.4-0.6 cm, subloosely many flowered, erect, with rather short mostly enclosed peduncle. Female glumes dark brown to chestnut-brown, sometimes light brown, ovate or ovate-oblong, membranous, upper margins ciliate, pale 3-veined costa forming a mucro at apex, apex acute. Utricles longer than glume, lanceolate, compressed trigonous, suberect, 4-6 mm, membranous, sparsely hirsute on upper half, finely many veined, apical beak short, orifice sharply 2-lobed. Nutlets tightly enveloped, elliptic or oblong, trigonous, 2.5-3 mm, contracted at both ends, base stipitate; style base not thickened; stigmas 3.
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